54 years ago on this day, the extravagant L.A. based quartet made an unforgettable presence in the 60s scene with their self-titled debut album. The Doors arrived with arguably their best material and took the industry by storm, introducing a new spin on the psychedelic hippie draped decade.
Instead of promulgating the trend of the British Invasion bands by following their lead into folk and acoustic rock, The Doors took the dark themes from The Byrds and expanded them with their own distinct style. Often, the psychedelia scene would drift into different strands of the genre like trying to adopt The Beatles into their sound. A pattern The Doors would graduate from and use their influences to create something that was theirs.
The self-titled album not only produced the staples that would define the band like Break On Through and Light My Fire, it also introduced a new model for psychedelic rock. Rather than indulging in the pop standard that all commercial bands would abide by, they made gloomy acid rock a default sound. Now, there was a changing of the guard from the British Invasion to American rock thanks in large part to The Doors.
The End encapsulates the impact of the album overall. A long, patient epic that waits for the payoff rather than getting it over with. A brilliant example of building tension and creating that atmosphere many bands had not capitalized on prior to 1967. It’s a lengthy track and in the end listeners will be glad they stood around for its entire lifespan.
Their influence within the remainder of the decade is shown in the tonal shifts in acclaimed acts such as Jefferson Airplane and Pink Floyd.
Leave a Reply